Mac OS X help. This time it's personal.

[American Oyaji]

I have a beige G3 Mini Tower Mac. 300mhz

I recently installed OS 10.2.

soon I'm gonna upgrade it to a G4 1GB with a ZIF chip.

ANyway. This comp has a video input/output card that came with it.

How do I access it under OS X?

[Scott]

I'm guessing your question really is, "How do I send Quicktime movies out the weird port?" And the real answer is: move to 10.4. I just went from 10.2 to 10.4, and the difference is huge. Not only is the machine faster, device issues like yours are easier to deal with, mostly because the apps are a step up from their 10.2 brethren.

You'll be able to access the card through the video software that specifically uses it (namely, iMovie or Final Cut Pro). When you have the video ready to export, the software will have an output channel listed under "Preferences".

And with 10.4 you can run Skype and the current version of iLife.

[drpepper]

I wouldn't count you you being able to use it. You are talking about those old built-in video ports like I had on my old 8500.. Fact is that hardware is nearly a decade old and imovie and FCP both use firewire to import video not those ports. Your best chance would be to use whatever software that you use with it now and run it in classic.

What do you want to do with video? Those ports are analogue so if you wanted to say, import digital video (since all camcorders these days are digital) you would be better served to buy a firewire pci board (pretty cheap) and use that to import video into imovie or whatever. If you wanted to plug in a vcr and watch tv well... you get a tv board or something else to accomplish that. I would get used to the idea that that old hardware is getting obsolete.

As for Skype and ilife.. I never had a problem with them under 10.3 so I don't know what change helped for 10.4.... but that is besides the point.

[mr. sparkle]

imovie and FCP both use firewire to import video not those ports.

With iMovie, that's true. FC Express will accept HDV and DV only. With FCP, this is untrue as FCP can handle any format, including analog - not just DV. A capture card that is accepted by Apple is necessary though, and I'm doubting that your board is supported.

you would be better served to buy a firewire pci board (pretty cheap) and use that to import video into imovie or whatever.

Good advice. A USB to RCA device like the Griffin iMic is good for audio stuff.

I would get used to the idea that that old hardware is getting obsolete.

I agree with that, but A.O.'s savin' his pennies.

So for less than $100, you will be in the zone A.O.

[mr. sparkle]

When you have the video ready to export, the software will have an output channel listed under "Preferences".

Only if the board is supported by FCP. A.O.'s board ain't supported. You need a AJA Kona, BlackMagic Design, or an Aurora card to capture analog. A FireWire DV>Analog coverter box will also do it.

[American Oyaji]

Yeah.

I dug all through Apple's site and didn't see anything that could help under OS X.

So yeah, I'd probably have to run it under Classic.

But what I was trying to do was EXPORT video to my VCR like I used to do. Sorry I hadn't made that clear.

But I've already planned on getting $50 Firewire/USB card that has internal and external ports.

Put an internal firewire drive in my machine since I only have a 9GB hard drive in it.

[tonikoro]

Oyaji,

Under my best advise, i would take that chance for a new mac mini, which would be lightspeed ahead of your G3 beige. I think I remember you talking about getting one, but it would be the right move if you want to use cameras of the now, and video apps of the now. I have a beige G3 233 desktop, and it sits semi-retired to the now machines only getting scans off it here and there. Hard choice, but I think it would benefit you to simply upgrade now.

[drpepper]

I wasn't saying that FCP didn't handle other formats but rather that firewire is used to import video on a standard mac and not analogue. Of course with an Aurora board you can do HD, SD, or other things but didn't really think that relevant to what was being asked here. But getting back to the topic... If you get the firewire port you can export video to a DV vcr or camcorder and at $50 is easily your best solution.

As for a mini, well yeah one of those would be a bit better but I am sure his zif and firewire board together would be about 60% the price of a mini (at 60% of the performance as well though). So if saving pennies is the priority then go for the upgrade. If you can wait til x-mas I am sure the older minis will be around to pick up used at really cheap prices...